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MORAVIAN CHURCH. 



THREE SERMONS, 

PREACHED ON THE ANNIVERSARY, MARCH 1st. 1857, ! 

In tfjc jftrst iEorabfan Cfjurcf) cf pf>ilatjelpf)ia, 



REV. EDMUND DE SCHWEINITZ, 

PASTOR. 

REV. J. F. BERG, D.D., 

PASTOR OF THE SECOND DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH. 

REV. R. NEWTON, D.D., 

RECTOR OF ST. PAUL'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 



PUBLISHED BY THE BOARD. 



PHILADELPHIA: 

MORAVIAN BOOK STORE, 241 ARCH STREET. 

1857. 



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PREFATORY NOTE. 



The Board of Elders of the First Moravian Church, 
being desirous to perpetuate the memory of the happy 
Anniversary of March 1st, passed a resolution, request- 
ing the three clergymen who preached on the occasion 
to furnish copies of their sermons for publication. 
This they kindly consented to do, and the discourses 
are herewith presented to the public in the order in 

:h they were delivered. » 

P. A. CREGAR, 
Secretary of the Board. 



lite miit g 3txhUt* 



SERMON 

BY THE REV. EDMUND DE SCHWEIXITZ, PASTOR OF THE 
CHURCH. 

u Remember the days of old, consider the years of many 
generations; ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy 
elders, and they will tell thee. 55 — Deuteronomy xxxii. 
7. 

There are times in the life of the Christian, when 
the sense of God's goodness is so great and over- 
powering that words fail to describe it; and there 
are seasons in the history of a church, when no 
human tongue can adequately celebrate the great 
deeds of Him who is "the Lord, the Lord God, 
merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant 
in goodness and truth." If I were to consult my 
own feelings now, I would stand in silent reverence 
before God, and let my heart bring a wordless 
tribute of thanksgiving and praise. To tell of fifty 
1* 



6 FOURTH CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY 

or one hundred years of a church-covenant, is a glo- 
rious thing; but who can pray as he ought to pray, 
who can preach as ought to be preached, when the 
years of that covenant number four times one hun- 
dred ? When throughout a century, and a century 
again, and two more centuries, the solemn promise 
has stood fast amid prosperity and peace, amid tri- 
bulation and distress, u Ye shall be my people, and 
I will be your God?" Did David, inspired as he 
was by the Holy Ghost, say of the providence of 
God, "such knowledge is too wonderful for me, it 
is high, I cannot attain unto it;" how much more 
must my trembling lips confess their inability to 
magnify the grace of God, revealed to our fathers, 
to generation after generation until this day ! And 
yet for this very purpose are we gathered in the 
sanctuary. Here is a waiting people, " with hearts 
enlarged," and souls exalted by jubilant joy; " ne- 
cessity is laid upon me" — I must proclaim, and 
even though it be with a stammering tongue, the 
wonders which the stretched-out arm of our cove- 
nant God has wrought. 

It will, I think, accord with your expectations, 
and the nature of this first service of our festival, 
if I set before you the history of the event we are 
commemorating, and then show what that history 
teaches. To this end I selected the text read be- 
fore: "Remember the days of old, consider the 



OF THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. / 

years of many generations; ask thy father and he 
will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee." 
These words form part of the song of Moses, which 
he spake in the ears of all the congregation of Is- 
rael, previous to his departure from earth. In 
that song generally, he exalts Jehovah for his un- 
deserved mercy, and reproves the people because 
of their frequent sins ; in the verse of the text, he 
bids the tribes call to mind the whole series of 
events that had taken place since their father 
Abraham was called, until that day when they 
were abiding in the valley over against Beth-peor, 
and had come almost within sight of the promised 
land. There is therefore a solemn exhortation be- 
fore us, to meditate on the history of the past, and 
to learn wisdom by its lessons. This exhortation 
concerns us to-day, as much as it did Israel of old. 
Let us then "remember" "consider" and "ask." 

I. We are to " remember the days of old; " and 
this I understand as referring to the founding of 
the Churchy four centuries ago. 

It would lead me entirely too far, if I were to 
enter on all the details of our history. A series 
of discourses would be necessary for that. Hence 
I will merely present to you, in quick succession, 
pictures of the principal events to which the church 
owes its existence. And even these pictures can 
be drawn in outlines only. 



8 FOURTH CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY 

The countries to which we direct our attention, 
are Bohemia and Moravia, at present constituting 
provinces of the Austrian empire. Passing over 
the early history of Christianity in these lands, its 
introduction from the Greek church, in the ninth 
century, its original purity, but gradual adultera- 
tion by the superstitions of Rome, the appearance 
of the great Reformer, John Huss, his martyrdom 
and the fearful war which broke out in consequence 
of it, as facts of general history well known to the 
most of you ; I will at once set before you the state 
of religious affairs, about the middle of the fifteenth 
century, after peace had been restored, and certain 
concessions granted to the Bohemians, by the 
Council of Basle. 

Two denominations existed in the land, both le- 
gally recognised, the Roman Catholics, and the 
Utraquists. The latter constituted the national 
church of Bohemia, and by the decree of the Coun- 
cil just named, enjoyed the privilege of receiving 
the sacrament of the Lord's Supper under both 
kinds, (hence their name,) but in other respects 
were very similar to the Catholics, and almost as 
corrupt. At the head of the Utraquist church, 
which was the more numerous of the two, stood an 
eloquent ecclesiastic, Rockyzan by name. He had 
been chiefly instrumental in securing the conces- 
sions made at Basle, and his influence in Bohemia 



OF THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 9 

was great. But there were also dwelling in the 
land, and particularly in the city of Prague, men 
of fidth, who held the pure doctrines of Huss. 
They had belonged to the more enlightened portion 
of the Taborite* party, and were as little satisfied 
with the false peace, as they had been with the 
contention of arms. It was their heart's desire be- 
lore God, that a general revival of pure and unde- 
fined religion might begin; and every thing in the 
church not in accordance with the New Testament 
be removed. Among these men, my brethren, we 
find our spiritual forefathers. This is the first pic- 
ture which I would set before you. 

And now let me proceed to show you how mani- 
fest a leading there was on the part of the Lord, 
in all things appertaining to founding of the 
church; how those awakened and longing souls 
simply followed after Him. The hope which they 
at this time had, was the reformation of the Bohe- 
mian church; nothing more. It never entered 
their minds to establish one of their own. They 
looked to Rockyzan for counsel and aid in the ful- 
filment of their wishes, and he, at first, seemed in- 
clined to tread in the footsteps of Huss. But when 

* The Hussites were divided into two parties, viz. the 
Oalixtines and Taborites. The former contended chiefly 
for the restoration of the cup in the Communion, the 
latter wanted a thorough reformation of the church. 



10 FOURTH CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY 

it came to choosing between the honour of the 
world ; and the loss of all things for Christ's sake, 
he drew back. Then those men of faith and of 
God began to meet in private, in order to edify 
one another in the Word, and were unceasing in 
their prayers, that the Lord in mercy would show 
them a way, in which they at least could worship 
Him, as conscience dictated. This was the first 
step towards the founding of a church, and this is 
the second picture which I have to present. 

But here is another. I will point out to you 
that spot of earth, where in the wisdom of God, 
the church should be established. About eighty- 
five miles from the city of Prague, near the con- 
fines of Bohemia and Silesia, stretching along the 
foot of a wooded mountain chain, and watered by 
two small streams, the Erlitz and the Adler, there 
lay a domain called Lititz. It belonged to the Re- 
gent of Bohemia, and was at that time in a state 
of devastation in consequence of the ravages of the 
Hussite war. On the bank of the Erlitz, crowning 
a high hill, arose an ancient castle, bearing the 
same name as the estate. Some of its walls and 
gates are still to be seen. To the east of it, lay 
the village of Zamberg, and to the north, sur- 
rounded on all sides by a deep forest, as its name 
denotes, the village of Kunwalde. Here, in the 
shadow of these feudal towers, and in the silent 



OF THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 11 

recesses of these forests, was founded the church 
to which we are privileged to belong. 

We pass to a new scene. There were abiding, 
in those days, in the barony of Lititz, several priests 
of the Utraquist denomination, who preached the 
gospel in its purny. Among these one in parti- 
cular, Michael Bradacius by name, had earned for 
himself an evangelic.il reputation. When those 
men of Prague, of whom we have been speaking, 
heard of this priest, and of his testimony, they 
were moved in the spirit to go forth unto him. The 
Regent, at Rockyzan's request, granted them per- 
mission to settle on his domain, and soon a number 
of them prepared to seek this retreat. It was the 
year 1453. Strong in faith, bold in God, they 
turned their backs upon the city and all its cor- 
ruptions, and took their way to the mountains and 
forests of the barony. My brethren, in that pil- 
grim company, recognise the patriarchs of your 
church. The names of the principal men among 
them have been preserved by history. They were 
Creicius, Gregory — a nephew of Rockyzan, Mat- 
thias of Kunwalde, Thomas Przelaucius, Elias 
Cherzenovius and Procopius. But even now they 
had no intention of beoinnino; an ecclesiastical or- 
ganization of their own : freedom of conscience was 
all they desired, and that had been promised them. 

See them then in the next picture of our his- 



12 FOURTH CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY 

tory, tranquilly sitting under the ministrations of 
Michael and a few other awakened priests. One is 
their Master, even Christ, they all are brethren; one 
faith unites their hearts, one desire after the sin- 
cere .milk of the word; unscriptural ceremonies are 
abolished, church-discipline is restored; righteous- 
ness and peace have met together on that estate; 
other men of like mind frequently arrive from 
Prague; their communion is growing larger, and 
being more fully organized — when suddenly, at the 
instigation of bigoted priests on neighbouring do- 
mains, Michael and his associates are deposed from 
office, by the Consistory of the Utraquist Church. 
Those who are sent to take their places, prove to 
be as corrupt and fanatical as the clergy in general. 
Alas for the men of God who had hoped to find at 
Lititz a spiritual home ! The evils from which they 
fled have followed them even into those mountains 
and forests. What shall they do? 

We will look at a new picture and see. A de- 
putation was sent to Rockyzan, to lay before him 
the grievances of the community at Lititz. But 
he refused to grant them a hearing, and declared 
that he would have nothing more to do with these 
troublers in Israel. Then the deputies turned to 
his assistant, Lupacius by name. He received 
them,- and after having listened to their message, 
gave them, in substance, this advice: "The con- 



OF THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 13 

i 

stituted authorities will not grant you redress; take 
then the matter into your own hands; establish a 
church-communion among yourselves, and choose 
your own ministers." Momentous counsel ! reach- 
ing much farther in its consequences than this man 
ever expected. The messengers returned to Lititz, 
and gave a report of their interview with Lupacius. 
Then light began to break in upon the troubled 
minds of that company of believers. Fully aware 
of the magnitude of the undertaking, and the fear- 
ful risks connected with it; they resolved to make 
the subject one of fervent, unceasing prayer. This 
having been done in private, a solemn convocation 
was called. It was the year 1457, therefore just 
four hundred years ago ; the place where they as- 
sembled, in all probability, Kunwalde. Earnestly 
they deliberated, fervently they prayed as a united 
people, until the Lord, whose mercies never fail, 
tilled their hearts with the assurance that a separa- 
tion from the established and corrupt churches, 
was His holy will. And now they proceeded to 
organize a communion of their own. Their model 
was the ancient apostolical church; their only rule 
of faith, practice, and discipline, the New Testa- 
ment of our Lord Jesus Christ, as taught by-Huss, 
whose disciples in the Lord they avowed themselves 
to be. Michael Bradacius was chosen minister; 
and, at a subsequent convocation, Gregory, Proco- 

9 



14 FOURTH CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY 

pins and Clenovicius were elected elders. The 
new church assumed the name of "Fratres Legis 
Christ!/' that is " Brethren of the Law of Christ/' 
but soon changed it into the more simple appellation 
of u Fratres " — " Brethren. " In after years, when 
their numbers had greatly increased, they called 
themselves the "Unitas Fratruni," that is ; u The 
Unity of Brethren/' which ancient name has been 
preserved to this day, and designates our whole 
united church, with all its provinces and mission 
fields, in whatever countries of the globe they may 
be. 

This, my brethren, is the simple history of the 
first founding of our Zion, four centuries ago, Its 
organization, as the very nature of the case will 
lead us to suppose, was not completed at once. 
In that assembly at Kunwalde, and in that 1457th 
year of the Christian era, the corner-stone was 
laid. But the workmen laboured diligently for 
ten years longer, before the walls had all been 
built up. When, however, they were completed, 
the spiritual temple, by the grace of God, was 
goodly to look upon; the doctrine had been more 
fully defined, the discipline confirmed, and, above 
all, a regular and valid ministry established, by 
securing the Episcopal succession from a Wal- 
densian Church on the confines of Austria. 

Having thus fulfilled the first part of our text, 
and " remembered the days of old/' we find that 



OF THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 15 

sixty years before the reformation of Luther be- 
gan, when nearly all the world was yet' shrouded 
.in Romish darkness, that Protestant Episcopal 
Church was founded, in which our lines have fallen. 

II. And now let us take up the second part of 
the text, which bids us "consider the years of 
many generations." 

These words may be applied to the course of 
events in the centuries that have been numbered, 
since the founding of the Church down to the pre- 
sent day. I can again set before you the principal 
facts only, and that as briefly as possible. 

No sooner did it become known in the land that 
the Brethren hajl organized a Church communion 
of their own, than a fearful and bloody persecution 
burst upon them. This was in the year 1458. 
Time would fail me to tell of ail they suffered, how 
they were driven from their homes, cast into dun- 
geons, stretched on the rack; how they fled into 
the forests, and hid themselves in the caves of the 
mountains; how the elders and ministers braved 
peril and sword, and went from place to place, 
comforting and exhorting the people; how in the 
dead of night, and in the temple of nature which 
God had built, they met for worship, and even 
held synods to consult on the welfare of the church; 
how when this first persecution had been stayed, 
other persecutions began, again and again, in the 



16 FOURTH CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY 

course of years. Yet as it had been of old, so 
was it then ; the blood of the martyrs was the seed 
of the church. The more Rome persecuted, the 
more did the Unitas Fratrum increase, until in the 
beginning of the sixteenth century there were two 
hundred churches in Bohemia and Moravia, whose 
members belonged to all ranks of life, from the 
peasantry to some of the most ancient noble families. 
At a later period, in consequence of a persecution, 
the curtains of the Church were stretched forth even 
to Poland; and about the middle of the century just 
named, there were three Provinces ; the Bohemian, 
the Moravian and the Polish, each governed, in 
local matters, by bishops of its own, but all united 
in general conventions, which were frequently 
held — a Unitas Fratrum, in the fullest sense of the 
term. The Brethren, moreover, paid particular 
attention to the cause of education, and had seve- 
ral Seminaries of learning; they cultivated dili- 
gently the sacred songs of Zion; they translated 
the Bible into the Bohemian vernacular, and had 
it printed at Yenice, which was the first version 
of the Holy Scriptures in any living European 
language; and afterwards established no less than 
three printing-presses of their own, one in Mora- 
via and two in Bohemia, whence, for several years, 
nothing but Bohemian Bibles were issued. Thus 
it appears that the Church, which had so mani- 



OF THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 17 

festly been founded by the Lord, failed not to bring 
the fruit ordained by Him. 

But now a change came over the scene of the 
labours of the Brethren. It was the first quarter 
of the seventeenth century, and Ferdinand II. 
swayed the sceptre of the Austrian Empire, to 
which Bohemia and Moravia now belonged. He 
was the personification of religious bigotry, and 
had solemnly sworn to extirpate heresy in all parts 
of his dominions. Hence the work began, and 
was prosecuted with fanatical perseverance. Not 
only the Brethren, but all the Protestants of Bo- 
hemia and Moravia suffered. The persecution, for 
the most part, was a bloodless one; cunningly de- 
vised, systematically carried out, Jesuits its cham- 
pions. "Abjure evangelical faith, or leave the 
country ! u This was the principle. Tens of thou- 
sands went into exile, while those who remained 
were forced to submit to Romish rule. The Bre- 
thren's Church in Bohemia and Moravia came to 
an end. In Poland it continued for some time 
longer, but soon an amalgamation with other Pro- 
testant denominations began, so that in the course 
of the second half of the seventeenth century, 
the Zion of our fathers, as a separate organiza- 
tion, ceased to exist. How glad were the enemies 
of the truth, how did they triumph, but — they 
a imagined a vain thing !" The Church was not 
2* 



18 FOURTH CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY 

dead. It lived in a hidden seed of which man 
knew nothing. There is not, in all Church history, 
a more wonderful fact than the preservation of this 
seed, and its growth to that goodly tree which yet 
remains. Let us briefly trace it. 

Many of the families who had continued in Bo- 
hemia and Moravia, although forced into an out- 
ward connexion with the Romish Church, never- 
theless in secret cultivated the truth. And when 
the fathers and mothers of that generation passed 
away, they left unto their children, as a precious 
legacy, the traditions of the Church which they 
had known and loved. There were those amons: 
them who had strong, well nigh prophetic antici- 
pations of a renewal of the Unitas Fratrum * espe- 
cially the venerable bishop, Amos Comenius, who 
forms the connecting link between the ancient and 
renewed churches. When, with the remnant of 
his broken flock he was wandering into exile, and 
had reached the top of the mountain chain which 
separates Moravia from Silesia, he turned to cast a 
farewell look upon his native land, which he loved 
so well. Long and earnestly did he gaze; and 
then, in the fulness of contending emotions, fell 
upon his knees, on that mountain height, and 
prayed unto the God of his fathers, with strong 
cries and tears, that he might preserve a good seed 
in these former homes of truth, and from that seed 



OP TIIE MORAVIAN CHURCH. IU 

bid a new tree to grow. And when after many a 
year spent in exile, Comenius felt his life draw- 
ing to a close, in hope against hope, he cared for 
the consecration of another bishop, so that the 
succession might not become extinct. Praised be 
God, even our God, my brethren, that prayer was 
heard, this hope against hope was not put to shame. 
Half a century rolled by, and in the year 1722, a 
little company of awakened souls, descendants of 
the Unitas Fratrum, left house and home, and all 
they had in their native Moravia, in order to seek 
somewhere a spot of earth where they might wor- 
ship God in spirit and in truth. They had formed 
no plan for the resuscitation of the old church; 
such an idea never entered their minds. But 
God's time had come. He who 

"Moves in a mysterious way 
His wonders to perform/' 

led this little pilgrim band, consisting only of four 
men, two women and five children, in the dead of 
night, forth from the land of bondage, and brought 
them safely to Saxony. There he put into the 
heart of a great and noble man, Count Zinzendorf, 
to give them shelter on his estate, and permission 
to begin a settlement. With the words of the 
Psalmist on his lips, "Here the sparrow hath 
found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, 



20 FOURTH CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY 

where she may lay her young, even thing altars, 
Lord of hosts/' one of those exiles, Christian Da- 
vid by name, struck his axe into the first tree felled 
for the building of Herrnhut. This, my brethren, 
was the beginning of the Renewed Church. Other 
immigrants from Moravia continued to arrive, 
and many Christians in Saxony joined them, so 
that in a few years, they numbered several hun- 
dred souls. They introduced the principles and 
discipline of their fathers; the Episcopate, which 
had been maintained through the prophetic antici- 
pations of Comenius, was solemnly transferred to 
them ; and thus was completed that church organi- 
zation which still exists, and of which this congre- 
gation forms a part. 

Having then briefly considered, as the text bids 
us, "the years of many generations/' we can on 
this day of joy and jubilee declare, that the church 
which was apparently overwhelmed by the perse- 
cutions of the enemy, after an existence of two 
centuries, in the wonderful providence of God, re- 
awoke to life, and is now celebrating its fourth cen- 
tennial anniversary. Nor is this festival confined 
to only one land of earth. In every continent, in 
countries of whose existence no man dreamed four 
hundred years ago, the churches of the Moravian 
Unity are this day bringing unto God our Saviour 
thanksgivings and praise. Let us take a brief sur- 



OF THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 2 1 

vcy of them. As there were of old, so are there 
now, three Provinces in the Church; the American, 
British and Continental. These have always re- 
mained numerically small, because they expend 
their strength on the foreign mission field, to which 
they were particularly called by the Lord. Num- 
bering only about twenty thousand souls, they 
have, at this time, three hundred missionaries in 
foreign countries, nearly seventy stations, and more 
than seventy-one thousand converts. The home 
missionary work on the Continent,* which has for 

* This Home Mission is generally called the " Dias- 
pora," and is one of the most interesting works presented 
by the Church history of the present clay. The princi- 
ples which regulate it are different from those observed 
in our country. Persons belonging to the Diaspora do 
not separate from the established churches, but remain 
in full communion with them. They are formed into 
Societies, and each Society is either visited at stated 
times by a missionary, or he dwells permanently in 
its midst, holding meetings for prayer and the exposi- 
tion of the Scriptures, and going from house to house 
with the consolations, exhortations and warnings of the 
Word. The grand object of this noble work is therefore 
to increase the number of living members of Christ's univer- 
sal Churchy a realization of Spener's favourite idea of 
ecclesiolce in ecclesia. The Diaspora extends over the 
following countries: Saxony, Prussia, Hanover, Bruns- 
wick, East Friesland, cities Bremen and Hamburg, Wiir- 
temberg, Switzerland, .France, Denmark, Norway, Swe- 



22 FOURTH CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY 

its object the conversion and sanctification of souls 
in the state churches, without separating them 
from these, is equally prosperous, comprising about 
one hundred thousand persons. So then we find, 
that the whole number of souls belonging, this 
day, to the Church founded four hundred years 
ago, amounts to not quite two hundred thousand ; 
and that from the seed planted in Bohemia and 
Moravia, in 1457, to all appearances destroyed in 
the seventeenth century, but replanted in Saxony, 
in 1722, has grown a tree whose branches, in 1857, 
extend to our own country, to Central and South 
America, to the West Indies, to Greenland and 
Labrador, to Great Britain, to nearly all the lands 
of the Continent of Europe, to Russia, to the 
confines of China, and to South Africa. Who is 
there among us, my brethren, who will not there- 
fore, in view of these "years of many generations," 
fervently say on this jubilee morning, with the 
Psalmist of old, "Bless the Lord, my soul, and all 
that is within me, bless his holy name ! " But let 

den and Russia. In the last named country the work is 
very extensive, especially in the province of Livonia, 
where there are 232 chapels or meeting houses, and 
about 40,000 members. The number of missionaries at 
present engaged in the Diaspora is 122, according to the 
latest returns. The term " Diaspora," is taken from 1 
Pet. i. 1, in the original Greek. 



OF THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 2o 

none forget solemnly to add, "Not unto us, not 
unto us, 0, Lord, but unto thy name be the glory ! " 

III. And now, permit me in conclusion, to apply 
the last part of our text. We read, "Ash thy fa- 
ther and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they 
will tell thee." We would ask our fathers this day, 
through the medium of their history to instruct us 
in lessons of righteousness ; lessons which we indi- 
vidually may adopt as principles of our future Chris- 
tian lives, and which the church unitedly may re- 
cognise as the rule of its future course Very many 
might be given, but time does not permit. I will 
therefore adduce but two. 

The first will, I think, be this : a church founded 
on no other foundation than that of the apostles 
and prophets, Jesus Christ being himself the chief 
corner-stone, is firmly founded, so that even the gates 
of hell shall not prevail against it. Our fathers 
had one great object particularly in view, and that 
was to constitute a living church, seen and known 
of all men, the majority of whose members should 
be true children of God. Hence, as to Christian life 
they laid very great stress on the discipline, and as 
to Christian doctrine, on the fundamental truths 
of the gospel, which are necessary to salvation ; but 
did not bind the conscience of any one in respect 
to secondary points or dogmas. We may say that 
already in the Ancient, but particularly in the 



24 FOURTH CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY 

[Renewed Church, they made Augustine's principle 
their own: "In essentials, unity, in non-essentials, 
liberty, in all things, charity/' The consequence 
was that the Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour, occu- 
pied a large place in the theology of cfur fathers, 
and that the truths respecting his eternal Godhead, 
and his meritorious sufferings and death were up- 
held with peculiar power and unswerving con- 
stancy. Now this freedom in non-essentials, and 
this necessity in essentials, must remain among us 
if we are to continue that Zion which our fathers 
founded. As soon as we should put forth a creed 
binding the conscience to certain doctrines not "ne- 
cessary to salvation, we would lose the distinctive 
feature of our covenant — a feature that renders 
possible the present visible and real unity of so 
many different nationalities — a feature, which in 
my estimation, points out the way of union to all 
evangelical churches of earth. Let us then, as a 
people, ever remember the first lesson which our 
fathers "shew," and our elders "tell" us to-day. 
And this the more, because it may be that the 
ITnitas Fratrum yet has, in this very respect, a 
great mission to perform. The heart's desire of all 
true Christians of the age, whatever their name or 
their land may be, is union in the Lord Jesus 
Christ. If such union is ever to assume, previous 
tQ the Saviour's second advent, a more real and 



OF THE MORAVIAN CHURCH, 25 

permanent form than it occasionally bears in our 
day, then the elements now in the Unity of the 
Brethren, may prove efficacious; and He who or- 
dained this people to lead the way in the great 
work of converting the heathen world, may have 
set them also to take an important part in the final 
development of his kingdom. But whatever be 
the future of the Church, may it only remain hum- 
ble, as our fathers were, and be anew baptized with 
their spirit. There is not a congregation within 
our border,-, which has not cause, this day, to cry 
unto the Lord, saying, "'Renew our days as of 
old!! 1 

The second and last lesson" in righteousness, 
which our fathers "shew" and elders "tell," is a per- 
sonal devotion to Christ. My brethren, this lesson 
concerns us all. We are "compassed about with 
a great cloud of witnesses." On every page of 
our history there are recorded instances of faith in 
Christ and love to Christ, amid dangers and perse- 
cutions, amid tortures and deaths, "in perils by 
land, in perils by sea," that speak to us in trum- 
pet tones. No member of this church dare be sa- 
tisfied with an ordinary degree of piety. If we 
would be true to our name, to our fathers, to our 
covenant, we must be ready to leave all and follow 
Jesus, through good and evil report, serving him 
with all our hearts, minds and souls, and with all 
3 



26 FOURTH CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY 

our strength. ! how is the frequent indifference 
manifested in our midst, put to shame by them 
who have gone before us. What are we perform- 
ing to the glory of our Saviour's name, enjoying, 
as we do, every spiritual privilege that we need, 
compared with the works of faith which they ac- 
complished in the face of much tribulation and 
fiery trials ? There come sounding into our ears 
this morning, the voices of those men of God who 
were assembled at Kunwalde, four hundred years 
ago; and with them mingle the triumph-songs of 
dying martyrs ; the night-hymns that arose in Bo- 
hemian forests; the solemn words of many a ve- 
nerable bishop; the soul-thrilling prayer of the 
exile Comenius, as he knelt on the mountain-top — 
all, all invoking us to present our bodies and our 
souls a living sacrifice unto Christ, to come out 
fully from the world, and with growing earnestness 
to press toward the mark. May the Lord grant 
us grace to hear and understand. The most ex- 
alted celebration of this jubilee day, would be 
conversions among us to God. Yea, and if but 
one soul will arise from the sleep of death, in the 
strength of Him who worketh both to will and to 
do, and throw itself into the outstretched arms of 
everlasting mercy, not only our "joy shall be full/' 
but there shall be joy in heaven among the an- 
gels of God, because a sinner lias repented; joy 



OF THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 21 

among the spirits of the fathers, now just men 
made perfect, because another soul, in the Zion of 
earth which they loved so well, has been born 
again, to the praise of their God, and of our God, 
of their Saviour, and of our Saviour. 

Now unto this God, who is " Jesus Christ, the 
same yesterday, to-day, and forever," "be glory 
in the Church throughout all ages, world without 
end." Amen. 



28 



i&fitrnffon Stxbitt. 



<y 



SERMON 

BY THE EEV. J. F. BERG, D. D., PASTOR OF THE SECOND 
DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH. 

"For what thanks can we render to God again for you, 
for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before 
our God." — 1 Thess. iii. 9. 

In that symbol of apostolic doctrine, which, 
leaving out of view all question of origin, is con- 
fessedly an expression of undoubted Christian faith, 
two articles are affirmed, which may with eminent 
propriety be cited, on this memorial day. "With 
one heart and voice, all who love the name of Je- 
sus Christ avow, each for himself, for faith is a 
personal matter, "I believe the Holy Catholic- 
church, — the communion of saints" — i. e. I hold 
as an article of Christian faith, that Christ Jesus 
has upon the earth, a church which is Holy and 
Catholic — a church which is universal, because 
confined by no sectional metes and bounds, it in- 



FOURTH CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY. 29 

eludes all of every race, and clime, and country, 
who, as living members of Christ's mystical body, 
hold the Head — a church, known upon earth, and 
therefore Visible — but known, not by any exclusive 
ecclesiasticism, not by any prescriptive ritual — not 
by any tabernacle or temple service, — for the gos- 
pel recognises no ceremonial law — but a church 
built upon the foundation of prophets and apostles, 
Jesus Christ being the chief corner-stone; known 
everywhere, by the evangelical simplicity of its 
creed and the purity of its profession ; a church 
which is Catholic and Holy. The holiness of the 
church is the ground of her catholicity — the holi- 
ness of the church is the bond of her unity, Christ 
has but one true church upon earth. The church 
has but one Head, and therefore, it can have bat 
one body. That body may have many members, 
but would it not be the height of folly, the first 
born of absurdities, for any one member of the body 
to arrogate to itself the office and prerogatives of 
the other members. "For/' says St. Paul, "the 
body is not one member, but many." Any form of 

I v-iasticism, therefore, which rules out of Christ's 
record, those who, whilst holding the Head, re- 
ceiving the Scriptures, professing the name of 
Christ, and adorning that profession by practical 

lliness, do not conform to prescriptions which 
Christ has not ordained — any system, which urro- 
3* 



30 FOURTH CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY 

gates to itself a ceremonial prerogative, and looks 
down with haughty contempt upon the followers 
of the Lord Jesus, is invading the catholicity of 
that holy church, which as the body of Christ is 
not one member, but many. It is smiting with the 
fist of wickedness at the face of the Lord's Anointed. 
It is hewing with the sword of bigotry at the bond 
of the Church's unity. It is seeking by its arrogant 
and pretentious claims to annul the precious com- 
munion of the saints of the Most High. It is a 
weapon formed against Zion, forged and tempered 
in the infernal fires of lustful hatred and ambition, 
wielded in all ages of the church, from the era of 
primitive Christianity, foretold in prophecy, fore- 
shadowed in the experience of the apostolic age, 
and tracing its dire developments, in acts of cruelty 
and outrage upon the body of Christ — blurring the 
page of history, and staining its annals with the 
blood-marked fingers of persecution. Now, that 
primitive symbol comes down to us from the early 
age, as an apostolic protest against all assaults upon 
the universality of Christian fellowship, and in the 
simple and sublime utterance of child-like faith 
proclaims — "I believe the Holy Catholic church, 
the communion of saints." I believe that they are, 
and that they exist by the appointment of God the 
Father Almighty, and of Jesus Christ, his only 
Son, our Lord, and of the Holy Ghost, who dwells 



OF THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 31 

in all the bodies of the saints as his temple, and 
knits them as members of the mystical body by 
that which every joint supplieth, to Jesus Christ, 
our covenant Head. 

Here, then, is ground upon which those who are 
joined to Christ can meet in Christian fellowship. 
The members of the body may have and they must 
have various names, but the body is not therefore 
many, it is still one and undivided. And amid all 
the diversity of appellation, one name abides, still 
above every name — it is the name of Jesus. To 
him every knee is bowed, to him every hand is 
raised, to him every voice in all this militant host 
ascribes dominion and glory forever. Now, it is a 
precious truth, that in no age of the world, since 
that glorious ascension at Bethany, has Christ's 
body been hidden from the sight of man. The 
Prince of Life has never ceased from the hour of 
the pentecostal anointing to have his living repre- 
sentatives and confessors upon the earth. In the 
inscrutable wisdom of God, his church under the 
New Dispensation as under former covenants, has 
been obscured by the dark shadows of oppression 
and apostacy, but it has never been destroyed. 
The gates of hell have never prevailed against it. 
The word of its living Head has been held good in 
every age by the power of grace and truth, through 
the operation of the Holy Ghost; and gradually 



through the temptations, the niurmurings, the fiery 
trials and assaults of the wilderness, Israel's Joshua 
is leading the tribes of the Lord into the possession 
of their inheritance. 

This fourth Centennial Anniversary presents the 
Moravian Church of the United Brethren in the very 
aspect which beautifully illustrates the truth, which 
we have endeavoured thus briefly to affirm. It is a 
link between the apostolic church and the churches 
of the Reformation. It dates, not its origin — for 
that would be a fatal concession, which Moravian 
wisdom, with all the harmlessness of the dove has 
never suffered any to extort — it elates, I say, not 
its origin, but the Renewal of the Brethren's 
church, from a period which runs back over four 
centuries, and is, therefore, anterior to the Reforma- 
tion. The date of that mighty era in the history 
of the church and the world, has by common con- 
sent been fixed in the year 1517; but the church 
of the United Brethren in its early history reveals 
a Reformed church before the Reformation. Sixty 
years before the sound of the great trumpet of the 
Protestant Reformation startled the world with its 
tones of solemn earnestness, a Christian organiza- 
tion, Protestant in its firm enunciation of scriptural 
truth against the heresies of the age, was effected, 
amid scenes of suffering and persecution, which 
bathed its confessors in a baptism of martyrdom 



OF THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 33 

and blood. The seed which in 1457 was spring- 
ing in the green blade out of the ground, enriched 

by the ashes of John IIuss and Jerome of Prague; 
the seed which for forty years had been germinating, 
since the 6th of July, 1415, when it had been sown 
broadcast by the winds which scattered the ashes 
of the heroic IIuss — had already produced a har- 
vest of full corn in the ear, when Luther and his 
great coadjutors began' the mighty conflict against 
the crushing despotism of a corrupt and apostate 
hierarchy. "With cordial sympathy and fervent 
love, the churches of the Reformation extend the 
hand of Christian fellowship and communion to 
their elder sister. The}' rejoice in the evangelical 
simplicity and the apostolic zeal, which have fur- 
nished so many precious illustrations of the power 
of a Saviour's grace and truth, during the four 
centuries of her experience. When we turn to 
the glaciers of Greenland and to the icy plains of 
Labrador, we admire the self-denying fortitude of 
the Christian heroes, the Arctic navigators of the 
gospel, forcing their way into the heart of a frozen 
world, in search of the lost Esquimaux. We listen 
to the choral music which finds its way through 
frosty mist and driving snows to the ear of the Al- 
mighty Saviour; we bow in adoration at the feet 
of the Redeemer, who gathers to himself a congre- 
gation of his redeemed from the poor outcast sa- 



64: FOURTH CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY 

vages, oppressed with poverty and wretchedness, 
and blinded by degrading and dark superstition. 
What heart in all this community alive to generous 
emotions, has been unmoved by the tidings of the 
early death of the heroic young man, who at the 
age of thirty-six years has paid his life a sacrifice 
to the noble call of Christian humanity, which 
bade him seek and save that which was lost ! Dear, 
generous heart ! We know, it is God's will that 
thou shouldst cease to feel on earth the throbbings 
of that precious sympathy, and we submit ; but sci- 
ence, humanity, religion will embalm thy memory 
and give it a shrine in the great Christian heart of 
the nation which claims thee as her jewel! 

And can the church of God forget the Arctic ex- 
plorers of the gospel ? Their search is not yet aban- 
doned. Still, amid all the perils of that ice-bound 
coast — amid the wasting darkness of the Arctic 
night — amid all the dreary solitude of isolation from 
the social comforts of civilized life, those servants 
of God continue, dependent for their subsistence 
upon the annual visit of the missionary ship, 
which has never failed since 1770* to accomplish 

* Up to the year 1853, this missionary ship had made 
eighty-three voyages, without a serious disaster, and never 
"before or since that period, has the communication -with 
the missionaries in a single instance been interrupted. 
Truly a most noteworthy providence. 



OF THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 35 

its errand of mercy — God protected amid howling 
winds and driving mountains of ice; — still, with 
faith that never falters, and with patience that 
never tires, this labour of seeking the lost sheep in 
the icy wilderness, is prosecuted, and the voice of 
the Greenlander and the Esquimaux, saved — safe 
in heaven, joins in the new song which they sing 
before the throne, who have come up out of great 
tribulation, and washed their robes and made them 
white in the blood of the Lamb ! Brethren, we 
ask with the grateful apostle in the language of 
our text, "What thanks can we render to God 
again for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for 
your sakes before our God ! " 

Our God — not your God only, — but OUR God. 
Paul held and ice would hold the communion of 
saints. 

That w T hich has been done on the icy fields of 
North America, has been accomplished also on the 
burning sands of Southern Africa, The Caffre and 
the Hottentot sunk in the abyss of degradation, 
wandering in the darkness of heathenism, the 
slaves of hateful, grovelling passions — have been 
taught the power of the love of Christ, and re- 
deemed, regenerated, clothed and in their right 
mind, are seen, sitting at the feet of Christ, swell- 
ing the ranks of the sacramental throng on earth, 
and joining in heaven the multitude, who shout, 



dp FOURTH CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY 

salvation to God and the Lamb. The poor negro 
of the West Indian Isles in the day of his bondage 
heard the message of gospel liberty from the lips 
of Moravian Missionaries, and learned to acquiesce 
with joyful cheerfulness in that saying of St. Paul, 
"Art thou called being a slave ? Care not for it — 
for he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, 
is the Lord's free man — likewise he that is called, 
being free, is Christ's servant." Where the pes- 
tilence has walked in mysterious darkness, wasting 
at noon-clay and scattering terror and destruction, 
there the humble missionary of the Brethren's 
Church, has stood unmoved, content to go home 
to God, if God should call, content to live, that he 
might seek and save the more; and there amid the 
graves of a thousand victims — amid the monuments 
of the great and the titled — amid the unnoticed 
and unmarked hillocks that cover the slain of the 
Destroyer, stand the humble graves of these ser- 
vants of God, who went forth, stepping upon the 
tombs of their precursors, and preaching the un- 
searchable riches of Christ, though they felt the 
ground crumbling under their feet, and opening 
its mouth to receive them. "What thanks can 
we render to God again for you ! " 

The question has sometimes been asked and oc- 
casionally, perhaps, in a tone of disappointment, 
and discontented surprise : how is it ; that whilst 



OF THE MORAVIAN CHURCII. 37 

the missionary operations of the Church of the 
United Brethren, have been so signally blessed 
in the various foreign fields which they have 
entered, until the number of converts from Pa- 
ganism, presents a host of not less than seventy- 
one thousand four hundred and fifty souls; that 
department which is known as home ground, has 
until recently, done little more than hold its own 
against the encroachments of death and of other 
providences, which, in this connexion, might 
seem almost adverse? My object is not to ac- 
count for this fact, but simply to present a single 
thought which seems, to my mind, not unworthy 
of notice. From the early history of your branch 
of the Church Catholic, it is easy to gather one 
leading indication of the special purpose of God's 
providence, in calling forth the Bohemian brethren, 
to bear testimony for Jesus. The lamp of the gos- 
pel of life burned with a pure bright fiame of holy 
love, and now it is asked, why was it not set in a 
large place, that it might have made many more 
rejoice in its brightness? Our first answer must 
be, "Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy 
sight/' — but the reason is perhaps not altogether 
secret. A lamp is useful for more purposes than 
a single one. We need it to afford light in the 
darkness — and here was a burning and a shining 
light which poured its rays upon the midnight of 
4 



38 FOURTH CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY 

many a soul, now in glory. But the lamp may be 
useful also in the cold winter, to kindle the fire, 
when the day is approaching, — and though that 
flame be small, and though the taper be but a little 
one, it is none the less efficient for the purpose. 
"Behold how great matter a little fire kindleth/' 
is a proverbial exclamation of inspired wisdom. 
And so it has proved in your history. The watch 
fires that burn around Mount Zion, marking the 
encampments of larger hosts than yours, were 
kindled from the flame which God lighted in the 
days of your fathers, kindled with the fire that 
burned upon your hearth, and even if the ashes 
had covered the last coal in your Israel, and no- 
thing were left of the glimmering lamp but the 
smoking flax, it would still leave cause for holy 
gratitude and for believing hope, so long as the 
promise stands sure, and it will be sure for ever, 
"The bruised reed shall he not break, the smoking 
flax shall he not quench; he shall bring forth judg- 
ment unto truth. He shall not fail, nor be dis- 
couraged, till he have set judgment in the earth; 
the isles shall wait for his law. Thus saith God 
the Lord, he that created the heavens and stretched 
them out; he that spread forth the earth and 
that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath 
unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that 
walk therein; I ; the Lord ; have called thee in 



OF THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 89 

righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will 
keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the peo- 
ple, for a light of the Gentiles, to open the blind 
eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, 
and them that sit in darkness out of the prison 
house/' 

It has been the glory of the Brethren's Church 
that, in the true spirit of her divine Master, she has 
been most concerned for those who were the most 
abject and forsaken. She has sought fields from 
which, we will not say, others turned disheartened, 
but to which, at least, they never went until she 
led the way. She has built on no foundation, 
which other hands have dug or laid. She has 
sought, like the great apostle of the gentiles, to 
preach Christ where Christ was not preached be- 
fore, and if others have entered subsequently, when 
the seed sown by her servants has covered the field 
with white and waving harvests, she has welcomed 
them and prayed the Lord of the harvest to send 
even more. It has been her honour, by the allot- 
ment of divine providence and grace, to be the pio- 
neer and the humble path-finder in the great cause 
of missions to the heathen world, and if she should 
ever become the least among the tribes of God's 
Israel, she has, like Benjamin, led the van in the 
sharpest conflicts with the enemies of our common 
Lord; and until the Lord comes to claim the hea- 



49 FOURTH CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY 

then for an inheritance, and the uttermost parts of 
the earth for his possession, she cannot lose the 
honour which the Prince of the House of David 
has put upon her ! Then, let the voice of com- 
plaining never be heard in her borders, as though 
she were "as a lamp despised of him that is at 
ease." The God whose favour is life, and whose 
loving-kindness is better than life, fixes the bounds 
of our habitation, and when the time has come to 
stretch out our curtain, he will strengthen the stakes. 
In view of this thought also, we say, " What thank3 
can we render to God again for you, for all the joy 
wherewith we joy for your sakes before our God?" 
Nor can we lose sight of another ground of thank- 
ful praise, presented in the fact, that for four hun- 
dred years, the Church of the United Brethren has 
never swerved from the doctrinal simplicity that is 
in Christ. It has been her policy, and would that 
in this respect her example had been universally 
imitated, to exclude all questions that engender 
strife, and to consign them to the gentiles in the 
outer court. She has not wasted her energies by 
fretting about abstractions. She has not intruded 
into the arena of political contentions. She has 
preached the same gospel to the master and to the 
slave. She has sought the souls of men, and to 
bond and free alike, she has proclaimed the liberty 
and the yoke of Christ. She has sought first of 



OF THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 41 

all and more than all, to pervade every relation in 
life, with the holy leaven of the love of God in 
Jesus Christ. She has troubled herself with no 
schemes of a world devised moral reform — she has 
engrafted none of the asceticism of an Essene in- 
fidelity upon the gospel of Christ — she has desired 
to add nothing to the precepts of her Lord, and to 
take nothing from the requirements of His word — 
she has reverently accepted the book of Cod as a 
pure and complete revelation; she has been content 
to follow, wherever she could find the foot-prints 
of the Master, and as she has sought peace and 
pursued it, so she has found and enjoyed it in the 
unbroken fellowship of her communion. 

Brethren, let us never forget it, they walk safely 
who follow where the Saviour leads. One word of 
Christ is worth all, and more than all the volumes 
which the wisdom of the world has ever penned. 
That voice which sounds in the oracles of God, 
calling to the pilgrims who look for a better coun- 
try that is a heavenly, " This is the way, walk ye 
in it," — never yet has led a traveller astray, and 
he who takes God's word as a light to his feet and 
a lamp to his path, amid all the ruggedness of the 
way, shall never take his place with them, whose 
judges are overthrown in stony places, though his 
prayer may often be with them in their calamities. 

To those salient points which are of special de- 
4* 



42 FOURTH CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY 

nominational interest, your beloved pastor is better 
prepared to direct your grateful remembrance than 
myself, and I have therefore chosen those reflections 
which are of general and Catholic interest, as more 
appropriate to the duty which you have kindly as- 
signed me on this anniversary occasion. 

In conclusion, permit me earnestly and with 
Christian affection, to enforce a few practical sug- 
tions; and first, Brethren, 

Cultivate the spirit of missions. It is the spirit 
which animated your fathers; it is that which the 
apostles breathed, and which filled the heart of the 
Saviour. It is emphatically the Spirit of Christ. 
It is the life of the church which he loved and for 
which he gave himself. It is the motive power of 
the work, in which God has pre-eminently blessed 
and honoured you. Let not the sacred fire which 
made the apostles burn with holy zeal for the sal- 
vation of dying men — the fire which glowed in the 
baptism of Pentecost, when those tongues of flame 
rested upon the apostolic band, and filled with the 
Holy Ghost and faith they went forth to preach 
Jesus and the Resurrection — that fire which has 
made the names of Kleinschmidt and Dober, 
Nitschman and Zinzendorf, great in the annals of 
the church of God — let not that fire burn dimly 
on your altars. — Feed it, when you commune with 
God in secret. Let it be kindled afresh, when in 



OF THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 43 

the solemn assembly you take counsel together and 
your heart burns within you, whilst you meet the 
Saviour in his ordinances, and he is known to you 
in the breaking of bread. Let your children be 
imbued with it. Make them familiar with the 
heroes of your mission history, and with the names, 
the position, the wants of them who stand on the 
ramparts on which the fathers fell; and above all, 
let the consecration of your persons and substance 
go with your supplications to the throne of divine 
grace, and He will make his promise good, " Instead 
of the fathers shall be the children;" and in the 
borders of your Zion, the Lord of the harvest shall 
ever find a generation to serve him, until the pro- 
mise is fulfilled, and all who have "gone forth 
bearing precious seed and weeping, shall come 
again with rejoicing, bringing their sheaves with 
them;" and in that heavenly home of the church 
of God, there shall be one fold and one Shepherd. 
2 . Cherish your own institutions, your own order 
and discipline. I am not pleading the cause of 
bigotry, or exclusiveness, when I offer this word 
of exhortation. I would give the same counsel to 
every household of faith. You do no wrong to 
society, when you pay special regard tc the welfare 
and order of your own family, and you do none to 
the church of the living God — none to the claims 
of Christian charity — none to the bonds of Christian 



44 FOURTH CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY 

fellowship, when you strengthen the cords which 
bind in living and efficient union the spiritual 
family, in which God has cast your lot. On the 
contrary, you do grievous injury to that Catholic 
church, the universal body of believers in the Lord 
Jesus, when you weaken the bond of brotherhood, 
which has hitherto made your church the blessed in- 
strument of bringing the lost sheep of the wilderness 
to the fold of the good Shepherd. This very com- 
munion of saints gives to all who love the Saviour 
a deep interest in your prosperity, because upon it, 
God has made a heavy weight of responsibility de- 
pendent. He has given you not only a great work 
to do, but he has conferred a special adaptation for 
its accomplishment. He has given you the ad- 
vantage of a history and experience peculiarly your 
own, and under God, next to the preaching of 
a pure gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit, 
your success depends upon devotion to your own 
institutions, order and discipline. Progress is 
God's order, but sheer innovation is not pro- 
gress. I question whether some concessions to 
the spirit of the age are not in reality improve- 
ments at the expense of the power and vitality 
of the church. If they invade the sanctuary, 
in which the simplicity and godly sincerity of 
Christian character have found their shrine — if 
they impair the singleness of heart, with which 



OF THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 45 

faith offers all to the service of the blessed Re- 
deemer, they are dear at any price. These virtues 
are not so common, that the church of God can 
afford to lose even the selvage, which trimming 
time-servers are ever ready to clip from the seam- 
less robe of Christ. There are diversities of gifts, 
but the same spirit, and there are differences of 
administrations, but the same Lord ; and there are 
diversities of operations, but it is the same God 
"which worketh all in all;" and in the economy 
of divine grace all these are tending to the com- 
pletion of the glorious building of God. Oh! 
when its top-stone shall be brought forth with 
shoutings, Grace, grace unto it ! when the last of 
God's ransomed ones shall be gathered in, and the 
last of the lost whom Jesus came to seek shall be 
found, and the Redeemer shall not only see of the 
travail of his soul, but shall be satisfied, then in 
full view of the unsearchable riches of the grace 
of God in Jesus Christ, in the full experience of 
the entire church of God, the tribes of ransomed 
Israel shall greet every man his neighbour with 
this congratulation, "What thanks can we render 
to God again, for all the joy wherewith we joy for * 
your sakes before our God;" and in the full real- 
ization of the church Catholic and the blissful 
communion of saints, all that ransomed throng, 
shall join as the general assembly and church of 



48 FOURTH CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY. 

the first-born, whose names are written in heaven, 
with the innumerable company of angels on mount 
Sion, in that glorious doxology of the song that is 
ever new, to Jesus, the Mediator of the new cove- 
nant, even "Unto him that loved us and washed 
us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made 
■ _ i_-_ c , nn( j y^igg^g unto- G-od the Father, to Him 









47 



o-' 



SERMON 

r.T THE REV. R. NEWTON, D.D., RECTOR OF ST. PAUL'S 
EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 

-Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let 
us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing;" 
— Philippians iii. 16. 

The Bible is a magazine of" principles for the 
regulation of our conduct. Our great aim, in read- 
ing and studying its pages, should be to make 
ourselves familiar with those principles, that we 
may be able to draw them out and apply them, as 
circumstances may demand. The great point of 
difference between a Christian and one who is not 
a Christian, lies chiefly in this— that the one will 
regulate and rule his conduct by the principles of 
the Bible, while the other will be guided either by 
no fixed principles at all, or by principles that are 
fundamentally false. In the text before us we 
'iave the principle laid down by the Apostle, in 



48 FOURTH CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY 

accordance with which professing Christians, of 
differing names, and opinions, may regulate their 
intercourse with each other. This is a point on 
which many conscientious persons are often at a 
loss to know how they should act. It is a point 
too in reference to which every Christian will, at 
one time or other, be called upon either to act, or 
decline acting. To ascertain distinctly then what 
is the undoubted teaching of the word of God on 
this subject, cannot be otherwise than an interest- 
ing and important matter. The subject too is very 
appropriate to the present occasion. I have the 
privilege this night of addressing myself to the 
members of a sister church — differing in name as 
well as in other things from that in which I was 
born and brought up : a church now celebrating the 
fourth centennial anniversary of its existence. Into 
the peculiar facts and circumstances which have 
marked the history of these centuries it is not my 
purpose to enter. These have been already con- 
sidered by your own pastor, who is much better pre- 
pared to do justice to such a theme than a stranger 
could be. But in view of the apostolic character 
of the ministry exercised in your church ; in view 
of the evangelical doctrines she has always upheld 
— in view of the Christian simplicity and love 
which have characterized her — especially in view 
of her earnest, faithful, self-denying and success- 



OF THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 49 

ful labours in the great work of spreading the glo- 
rious gospel of the Son of God throughout a fallen 
world, I cannot but rejoice in the opportunity af- 
forded me, of uniting with you, in the exercises 
of this interesting occasion. It is an appropriate 
time to discuss, the scriptural rule of Christian fel- 
lowship. And this rule I consider St. Paul as lay- 
ing down in our text — when he says, " Nevertheless, 
whereunto we have already attained, let us walk by 
the same rule, let us mind the same thing." 

NoWjjn dwelling on these words, we may remark, 
in the first place j that St. Paid takes it for granted 
that there would be differences of opinion among 
Christians. This is perfectly evident from the very 
language of the apostle, for he here lays down a 
rule for the direction of Christians under their dif- 
ferences; and being guided by an all-wise, and infal- 
lible Spirit, he would not have given a rule for a 
state of- things which was never to exist. Nay, he 
not only implies that there would be differences, 
but states positively that there was a necessity for 
them, saying to the Corinthians, (1 Epist. xi. 19,) 
"There must be heresies among you, that they who 
are approved may be made manifest." We are apt 
to regard the division of the Christian world into 
so many different sects, as the source of nothing but 
evil. But this is not the case. On the contrary 

is the occasion of good, in various ways. We 
5 



50 FOURTH CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY 

have no reason to suppose that it would be better 
on the whole, for the church, if the numerous de- 
nominations into which it is divided were all re- 
duced to one. We can think of many respects in 
which advantage would be gained, if uniformity 
of thought and action could be secured, on many 
of the points which now divide the church: but it 
ls» easy to imagine disadvantages too, which would 
result from such a state of things, amidst the im- 
perfections of our present condition. Our divine 
Redeemer is possessed of infinite wisdom to deter- 
mine what is best for his church; and he is pos- 
sessed of infinite power too, to accomplish what 
that wisdom dictates. He might have made all 
his people to think and feel alike on the different 
subjects which now divide them : and the only rea- 
son we can assign for his not doing so, is, that he 
did not see it to be best. Uniformity of speech 
once prevailed on the earth, and Babel's presump- 
tuous tower remained as a monument of the God- 
defying wickedness to which it led. Time was, 
in the history of the church, when it had but one 
earthly head, and one uniform practice in regard to 
outward things; but that head was the corrrupt 
and tyrannical Pope of Rome, and that uniformity 
was the uniformity of death. Sectarian bitterness 
and uncharitableness are great evils indeed; but 
sects in themselves, the mere existence of different 



OF THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 51 

opinions on certain points, and of different denomi- 
nations founded upon them, is not in itself an evil ; 
but on the contrary is productive of much good. 
"We are satisfied that larger contributions to the 
cause of benevolence, and more vigorous, and ex- 
tensive exertions in the various departments of 
Christian enterprise, are made by the church, as it 
now is, than would probably be made if one deno- 
mination embraced the whole multitude of Christ's 
professing people. But constituted as we now are, 
in this imperfect state, it is impossible, in the very 
nature of things, but that division and differences 
should exist. It is utterly out of the question 
that in the wide range of subjects embraced in our 
religious creeds all men should think alike. "In 
the Protestant church/' I quote the language of 
an eloquent writer, "it would be inconsistent with 
what is stated in the Bible, to make all the sections 
of the church uniform in rites, ceremonies and dis- 
cipline. I believe that it would not only be 
contrary to what is written in the Bible, but it 
would be inexpedient as a matter of fact. I be- 
lieve it was not God's design that there should be 
uniformity in grace, any more than there should 
be in nature. If we look at the firmament of hea- 
ven, God might have made every star of the sixth 
magnitude, or of the first magnitude; but he has 
not done so, for one star differs from another star 



52 FOURTH CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY 

in glory. If we look upon earth, each flower dif- 
fers from another flower in fragrance and in tints. 
God might have made each flower a rose, but he 
has not done so. He has made many flowers, of 
many sizes, of many tints, all having one grand 
principle in common, their vegetable life, but de- 
veloping that principle in every variety of tint and 
blossom and beauty. Nature resists uniformity, and 
so does grace. If you go into the woods in the 
season of autumn, and cut each outspreading oak 
into the form of a perfect cone, you will thus have 
made each oak the fac-simile of its fellow, and pro- 
duced a most complete, and perfect sylvan uni- 
formity. But is this the will of Him who made 
the trees? Wait a little, wait till the spring returns. 
The moment that the sap of life rises from the 
roots into the trunks and breaks out into foliage, 
that moment the uniformity is gone; for each 
branch will develop itself in some points of di- 
versity from the rest ; and the dead trees alone 
will remain as man shaped them, to let the uni- 
formist know, that God meant unity to be in na- 
ture, but not uniformity in development. And 
so it is in the church of Christ. And wherever 
a pope with his tiara, or an archbishop Laud with 
his crozier, or a king with his sceptre, or a Crom- 
well with his iron sword, has tried to make Chris- 
tians perfectly uniform in all things, he has found 



OF THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 53 

a power mighter than kings and popes and pre- 
lates and councils, in the great law which God has 
established in his kingdom of grace, telling us that 
unity in essentials with diversity in development, 
is God's great design." We may well say there- 
fore, that the apostle takes it for granted in our 
text that differences would exist among Christians. 
We remark, in the second place, that the apostle 
teaches us that the existence of these differences 
should not prevent kindly feelings and intercourse 
on the part of those who hold the fundamental 
truths of the gospel. The mere reading of the text 
shows this. The apostle's rule is, that when the 
essential doctrines of the gospel arc held, then in- 
tercourse and union should be maintained just to 
the extent to which those who hold these doctrines 
may find themselves agreed. Merging, or keeping 
out of sight the things about which they do not 
agree, they should unite on those fundamental 
points which they hold in common. And this 
brings up the question, what is fundamental truth? 
Now it is manifest that nothing connected merely 
with church government, order or arrangement can 
be thus considered. These matters are important 
in their place. They should be highly prized, dili- 
gently held, and zealously contended for; but still 
they are not fundamental. This word has refe- 
rence to the foundation of a building. But the 
5* 



54 FOURTH CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY 

foundation is that without which the building can- 
not stand. And just so the fundamental truths of 
the gospel are those without a knowledge and be- 
lief of which the soul cannot be saved. Of this 
character are the doctrine of the divinity of Christ, 
of the necessity of the new birth, of faith in Christ, 
and of a personal union with Him. These are 
strictly fundamental truths, for without these there 
can be no salvation. But I suppose that the most 
ultra and bigoted member, either of your church, 
or mine, or any other Protestant church in the 
land, will hardly be willing to put any question 
connected with the peculiarities of the denomina- 
tion to which he belongs, in comparison with these ; 
or to take the ground, for a moment, that there 
can be no salvation for those who differ from him, 
in the views he holds, respecting the ministry, or 
government of the church, the form of its wor- 
ship, the manner of administering the sacraments, 
or any such matters. What St. Paul's views were, 
on this point, is manifest from what he says to the 
Galatians, (chap. vi. 16.) "As many as walk ac- 
cording to this rule, peace be on them and mercy? 
and upon the Israel of God." And if you ask what 
rule is it of which St. Paul here speaks ? We have 
our answer by referring to the verse immediately 
preceding that just quoted. There we find him 
declaring, that "In Christ Jesus, neither circum- 



OF THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 55 

cision availetli anything, nor uncircumcision, but 
a new creature/' And then he adds immediately, 
" As many as walk according to this rule, peace be 
on them and mercy, and upon the Israel of God," 
Now we are to bear in mind that u circumcision " 
was the great sacrament of the Jewish church. 
It bore precisely the same relation to the pious 
Jew, which baptism, or the Lord's Supper bears 
to the sincere Christian. It was quite as impor- 
tant and sacred a thing to him, as either of these 
sacraments can be to us. The apostle evidently 
uses the term " circumcision" here, to denote out- 
ward ordinances, or sacraments of any kind. And 
the position which he assumes, is, that no question 
of this nature, can be of any importance compared 
with the question of our renewal in Christ, and our 
union with him by faith. We have only to sub- 
stitute the term baptism, or the Lord's Supper, or 
episcopacy, or any other matter about which pro- 
fessing Christians differ, and we have the apostle's 
rule adapted to our times, and bearing directly on 
the controversies which exist among us. The rule 
will then read thus: To be baptized availetli nothing, 
or not to be baptized; to receive the Lord's Sup- 
per availetli nothing, or not to receive it; to hold 
to episcopacy availetli nothing, or not to hold to it ; 
to practise immersion availetli nothing, or not to 
practise it; to use extemporary or written prayers 



58 FOURTH CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY 

availetli nothing, or not to use theni; "but a new 
creature." That is, these things are nothing, 
without, or in comparison of our being in Christ, 
united to him by a living faith. The necessity for 
this union with him is the grand fundamental truth 
of the gospel, compared with which everything else 
is unimportant. And when the apostle says, "As 
many as walk according to this rule, peace be on 
them," it is perfectly evident that he means to 
teach us to give the right hand of fellowship to all 
who receive Christ as their Saviour and hold Him 
as their Head, and give good evidence of their 
union with Him, however much they may differ 
from us in other respects. This is the undoubted 
meaning of St. Paul's language in the passage be- 
fore us. This is the scriptural rule which the apos- 
tle lays down in reference to the duty of which we 
are treating. And when he, under the guidance 
of the infallible Spirit, clearly and authoritatively 
enjoins this rule, who will refuse to act in accord- 
ance with it, or attempt to lay down any other? 

We remark now, in the third place, that not only 
does St. Paul take for granted that differences would 
exist, and that the existence of these differences need 
be no hinder ance to the maintenance of kindly in- 
tercourse with each other ; but he enjoins it as a 
duty to cultivate Christian fellowship and charity, 
even with those who differ from us, just so far as 



OF THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 57 

we are able to agree. We mean not to intimate 
that the peculiarities which distinguish us as de- 
nominations from each other, should be thought 
lightly of or made of no account. By no means. 
We only intend that in properly maintaining these 
peculiarities, there exists no reason why we should 
refuse to acknowledge and love as Christian bre- 
thren, believers of other names, who love the same 
Saviour, and who walk, it may be, much more 
worthily of him than we do, simply because they 
cannot think as we do, respecting the ministry and 
government of the church, and matters of the like 
character. This was evidentlv not St. Paul's view 
of the subject when he wrote the language of our 
text. It may be said, that the differences now at 
issue among Christians, had not then arisen. True 
they had not. But then the omniscient and infalli- 
ble Spirit of the living God, under whose guidance 
Paul wrote, knew perfectly well that they would 
arise, and He would not have laid down a broad 
and general rule for our direction in such cases, 
unless he had intended that it should be applied 
and used. And seeing that we are furnished with 
such a rule, from such a source, we may be assured 
that from the proper application of it no practical 
evil can arise. It is often said indeed, that for the 
members or ministers of one church to unite with 
their brethren of other denominations, in carrying 



05 FOURTH CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY 

forward any of the great benevolent enterprises of 
the present day, involves a sacrifice of those prin- 
ciples about which they differ. But this statement 
is utterly untrue. The very language of our text 
confutes it. The rule which it furnishes is an ef- 
fectual safeguard against any such result. For 
while Christians unite only in reference to those 
things about which they are agreed, how can this 
involve any sacrifice of those things about which 
they are not agreed, and in reference to which they 
have no thought of uniting? For example, a minis- 
ter of your church, or of mine, meets with Chris- 
tians of different names on the platform of the 
Bible society, and unites with them in their plans 
and efforts for its wider circulation; now what 
possible principle peculiar to him as a minister of 
the Moravian, or Episcopal church, docs he com- 
promise in acting thus? In the apostle's language, 
both he and those with whom he associates have 
attained to this, that they esteem the Bible as the 
most precious of all God's gifts to a fallen world; 
they have attained to this, that the unfettered cir- 
culation of it is one of the noblest employments in 
which they can possibly engage; and they have 
attained to this, too, that it is the solemn and im- 
perative duty of all who love it, to send it freely 
to others. And having "attained" unto this, is 
it not scriptural, and right and proper that they 



OF THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 59 

should "walk by the same rule, and mind the same 
thing?" Is there not the very clearest authority 
for such fellowship in the language of the text ? 

How beautifully we sometimes sec the apostle's 
rule illustrated in its practical operation ? Here, 
for instance, is an example. Some years ago, a 
public meeting was held in one of the mid-land 
counties of England for the establishment of an 
Auxiliary Bible Society. Two gentlemen, Mr. GL 
and Mr. T., the former a clergyman of the church 
of England, and the latter a minister of one of the 
Independent churches, and who had never seen 
each other before, were appointed the joint secre- 
taries of the Institution. One of the resolutions 
adopted delegated to them the duty of visiting the 
county, for the purpose of forming branch societies, 
in connexion with the newly established Auxiliary. 

On their first introduction, the following con- 
versation took place between them. "Our friend/' 
said Mr. G., "has just introduced me as a clergy- 
man of the church of England. You, Sir, if I 
a in rightly informed, are a minister of the Inde- 
pendent denomination. It is, therefore, evident 
that we entertain different views on some subjects. 
Such being the case, and as we shall have to tra- 
verse the county throughout its length and breadth, 
and to pass not only hours but days in company 
with each other, I have been seriously thinking 



GO FOURTH CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY 

whether it may not save us some little unpleasant- 
ness if we mutually agree upon a principle to go- 
vern our intercourse. What think you, sir?" 

"I am perfectly aware, my dear sir/' replied Mr. 
T., "of our relative positions, and the same subject 
and desire have occupied much of my thoughts 
since yesterday. I entirely agree with you in the 
desirableness of such an arrangement as you have 
suggested, and shall be truly glad to know what 
has been the result of your deliberations." 

"My proposition/' said Mr. Gr., "is simply this; 
that we begin by talking of the subjects on which 
we agree; and, when we have exhausted all of 
these, then begin with those on whicli we differ." 

"A most excellent plan," said Mr. T., "and one 
that has my most cordial assent. I adopt it with 
all my heart." 

These excellent men were colleagues for seven 
years, when the death of one dissolved their union 
upon earth. They annually laboured together for 
a portion of their time, with increasing comfort to 
themselves and benefit to others; and frequently 
they were both heard to declare, "We never ex- 
hausted the subjects on which we agreed, and there- 
fore had no occasion to enter upon those on which 
we differed." 

How blessed a thing it would be for the church 
of our divine Master, if the spirit which animated 



OF THE MORAVIAN CHURCII. 61 

those two men were cherished and cultivated by all 
"who profess and call themselves Christians! " 
How far it would tend to heal the wounds of the 
daughter of Zion, and to take away her reproach 
from among men? May our consideration of the 
subject on this interesting occasion, increase and 
strengthen this spirit in all of us, my brethren. May 
the spirit of true Christian love and fellowship take 
full possession of our hearts, and dwell therein for- 
ever! Then, indeed, shall our souls prosper! For, 

"E'en as the dew, that, at the break of morning, 
All nature with its beauty is adorning, 
And flows from heaven, calm and still, 
.And bathes the tender grass on Zion's hill, 
And to the young and withering herb resigns 
The drops for which it pines : 
So are fraternal peace and concord ever 
The cherishers without whose guidance, never 
Would sainted quiet seek the breast, — 
The life, the soul of unmolested rest, — 
The antidote to sorrow and distress, 
And prop of human happiness." 

Before closing, and to show that the view now 
taken of this passage, is the correct one, I quote 
the exposition given of it, by two eminent com- 
mentators; Poole, the author of Annotations on 
the Bible, thus discourses upon it, "Let us mind 
the same thing: in like manner all of us who are 
spiritual, grown Christians, should be affected, 
6 



62 FOURTH CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY 

being of one accord, one mind and judgment, in 
imitation of Christ; so far, that in the fundamen- 
tal articles, we should still be perfecting holiness 
in the fear of God ; so that by the same rule of 
faith, by the unity of judgments in the main busi- 
ness of religion, by the concord of our affections, by 
the concurrence of our ends, and by our consent and 
delight in the truth, we should declare, that in our 
differences Christ is not divided, but in the variety 
of persuasions in lesser matters, the purity, holi- 
ness, and peace of the church is still preserved. 
For it is more reasonable, that the many truths 
wherein we agree should cause us to join in love, 
which is a Christian duty, than that the few 
opinions wherein we disagree, should cause a 
breach in affection, which is a human infirmity." 
Our excellent brother, and fellow-townsman, 
Mr. Barnes, in commenting on the passage now 
before us, thus speaks, " This is a most wise and valu- 
able rule, and a rule that would save much trouble 
and contention, if it were honestly applied. The 
meaning is this, that though there might be differ- 
ent degrees of attainments among Christians, and 
different views on many subjects, yet there were 
points on which all could agree, and in reference 
to them, they should walk in harmony and love. 
It might be that some had made greater advances 
than others. They might see the truth or propriety 



OF THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. Go 

of many things, which those less favoured could not 
see clearly. But it was not worth while to quarrel 
about these things. There were many things in 
which they could see alike, and where there were no 
jarring sentiments. In those things they could act 
harmoniously, and thus the harmony of the church 
would be secured. No better rule than this could 
be applied to the subjects of inquiry which spring 
up among Christians respecting various doctrines 
of religion, as well as plans of benevolence; and if 
this rule had been observed, the church would have 
been always saved from harsh contention and from 
schism. If a man does not see things just as I do, 
let me try with mildness to teach him, and let me 
believe, that if he is a Christian, God will yet make 
this known to him; but let me not quarrel with 
him, for neither of us would be benefited by that, 
nor would the object be likely to be obtained. In 
the meantime, there are many things in which we 
can agree. In them let us work together, and strive, 
as far as we can, to promote the common object. 
Thus we shall save our temper, give no occasion to 
the world to reproach us, and be much more likely 
to come together in all our views. The best way 
to make Christians harmonize, is to labour together 
in the common cause of saving souls. As far as 
we can agree, let us go and labour together; and 
where we cannot, yet let us agree to differ. We 
shall all think alike by and by." 



84 FOU&TII CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY 

"Nevertheless, whereunto we Lave already at- 
tained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind 
the same thing." 

There are two thoughts we would press on your 
consideration in closing, as suggested by this sub- 
ject, and the first is this: That the spirit of the 
gospel is a spirit of enlarged and comprehensive 
charity. Our poor fallen nature is continually 
prone to imitate the conduct of those disciples who 
desired their Master to let them call down fire from 
heaven on some, no matter what their character or 
works were, simply because they walked not with 
them. But Jesus rebuked this uncharitable spirit, 
and taught his erring followers, that it was quite 
possible there might be labourers in his vineyard, 
who trod a different path from that in which they 
walked, and yet were just as acceptable to Him as 
they themselves were. And when we plume our- 
selves on our denominational distinctions; and in^ 
dulge in unkindly feelings towards others, or give 
utterance to harsh speeches respecting them, what 
are we doing but acting over again the part of the 
disciples, and striving as far as our ability goes to 
call down fire from heaven on those who differ from 
us? 0, if all such narrow-minded, bigoted, fiery 
zealots had their way, what a scene of mutual 
burning there would be in the land ! But thanks 
be to God, this spirit is not the spirit of the gospel 



OF TOE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 66 

Jesus tasted death for every man; and "in every 
nation, lie that worketh righteousness is accepted 
of Him." He died for all of every name; He re- 
ceives all of every name; He loves all of every 
; and He saves all of every name who sub- 
mit themselves to Him. And if we really love the 
Head, we shall love the members too, so far as they 
bear his image, by whatever name they may be 
called, and however differently, in some respects, 
they may think from us. This is the spirit of 
Christ; and the charity of the gospel consists in 
cultivating and carrying out this spirit. This is 
the spirit which the church of Christ should breathe 
through all her services, teaching her members to 
strive to "keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond 
of peace;" and to pray for "all who profess and 
call themselves Christians, that they may be led in 
the way of truth." And the more of this spirit 
any man has, other things being equal, the better 
Christian he will be, and the better member of the 
church; while without it no man can be a good 
Christian, or a good member of the church. And 
this being the case, the other thought we would 
press upon you is perfectly plain, to wit : That it 
is every man's duty to cultivate this spirit! The 
precepts of the gospel require it. "Let this same 
mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus," 
is an injunction from whose binding power no fol- 



06 FOURTH CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY 

lower of Christ can escape. The mind of Christ, 
is, to love all of our race who yield their hearts to 
his grace, and exercise faith in his prevailing 
merits. And if we have this mind, we shall love 
all those whom we have reason to believe that 
Christ loves.. We shall feel that if we and they 
have really been brought to love him, this is, of 
itself, a ground of agreement, a bond of union in 
comparison of which everything else is secondary 
and insignificant. If there is one article in the 
creed we hold, the tendency of which is to gene- 
rate unkindliness of feeling towards those who dif- 
fer from us in points wmicli are not strictly funda- 
tal, then we may mark that article, and be thoroughly 
satisfied of one of two things concerning it, either 
the article is contrary to Scripture in itself, or we 
are holding it in a way which makes it equivalent 
to what is contrary to Scripture. No truth which 
the Scriptures teach, held in the spirit which the 
Scriptures breathe, will ever generate unkindliness 
of feeling towards any of the people of Christ. 
And how would the interests of the gospel be pro- 
moted by the cultivation of this lovely Christian 
spirit ? I do not say what a glorious thing it would 
be if all denominational differences were done away, 
for that will never be till Jesus comes again; but 
I do say what a glorious thing it would be if all de- 
nominational bitterness and uncharitableness were ' 

L.ofC. 



OF THE MORAVIAN CHURCH. 07 

done away; and those who name the name of Jesus, 
would adopt the apostle's principle laid down in 
the text, and " whereunto they have attained, would 
walk by the same rule, and mind the same thing.' ' 
But this will never be clone in a general way until 
it is done in a particular way; it will never be done 
by churches or communities, till it is done by indi- 
viduals. 

Then let each one of us take up this matter, my 
Christian friends, and to the full extent of our per- 
sonal influence and example, try to cultivate and 
spread abroad the scriptural spirit of Christian fel- 
lowship. The ocean is just what the individual 
drops of water in its unfathomed depths make it. 
The atmosphere with its arch of boundless blue, 
is just what the individual particles of air wrought 
into its composition make it. And so the church 
of Christ is only what every member of that church 
helps to make it. What are we doing to liberalize 
its spirit, to imbue it and surround it with the at- 
mosphere of heaven? That atmosphere is one of 
loving fellowship and charity. My friends, let us 
seek to carry about us wherever we go this hea- 
venly atmosphere. And then we shall know 

How sweet it is. through life's dark way, 

In Christian fellowship to move, 
Illumed by one unclouded ray 

And one in faith, in hope, in love! 

Amen. 






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